Medical researchers at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich have discovered why a new class of anticoagulants designed to reduce the risk of strokes can—in rare cases—increase the incidence of heart attacks.

Even modest increases in high blood pressure were linked to a greater risk of death and heart failure among African American adults of all ages, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the ...

Psoriasis is well-known for causing too many skin cells on elbows, knees, and across the body, but people living with psoriasis may also be at an increased risk of heart disease. Effects of overactive immune cells in the ...

Patients with acute coronary syndrome, an umbrella term for conditions where the heart's blood supply is suddenly blocked, may be at an increased risk for suicide compared to otherwise healthy people, according to new research ...

California adolescents perceive smoking cigarettes to be riskier – and less socially acceptable – than they did a dozen years ago, according to a new study that comes amid a changing tobacco product landscape.

Using a shared decision-making aid to involve patients more in their own care decisions can prevent unnecessary hospitalization or advanced cardiac tests for patients reporting low-risk chest pain—for the cost of about ...

The quality of life of elderly myocardial infarction patients can be significantly improved without extra costs by means of so-called case management following hospitalization. Health economists from the Helmholtz Zentrum ...

A significant percentage of lymphoma patients undergoing transplants with their own blood stem cells carry acquired genetic mutations that increase their risks of developing second hematologic cancers and dying from other ...

Using state-of-the-art brain imaging technology, scientists at the National Institutes of Health filmed what happens in the brains of mice that developed cerebral malaria (CM). The results, published in PLOS Pathogens, reveal ...

Men with type 2 diabetes taking treatments for erectile dysfunction could be reducing their risk of a heart attack and improving their chances of surviving a heart attack, according to a study funded by the British Heart ...

A decade after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, hospital admissions for heart attacks in the city were three times higher than they were before the storm, according to Tulane University research results presented at the ...

Myocardial infarction (MI) or acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die. This is most commonly due to occlusion (blockage) of a coronary artery following the rupture of a vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque, which is an unstable collection of lipids (cholesterol and fatty acids) and white blood cells (especially macrophages) in the wall of an artery. The resulting ischemia (restriction in blood supply) and ensuing oxygen shortage, if left untreated for a sufficient period of time, can cause damage or death (infarction) of heart muscle tissue (myocardium).

Classical symptoms of acute myocardial infarction include sudden chest pain (typically radiating to the left arm or left side of the neck), shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, sweating, and anxiety (often described as a sense of impending doom). Women may experience fewer typical symptoms than men, most commonly shortness of breath, weakness, a feeling of indigestion, and fatigue. Approximately one-quarter of all myocardial infarctions are "silent", that is without chest pain or other symptoms.

Among the diagnostic tests available to detect heart muscle damage are an electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiography, cardiac MRI and various blood tests. The most often used blood markers are the creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) fraction and the troponin levels. Immediate treatment for suspected acute myocardial infarction includes oxygen, aspirin, and sublingual nitroglycerin.

Most cases of STEMI (ST elevation MI) are treated with thrombolysis or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). NSTEMI (non-ST elevation MI) should be managed with medication, although PCI is often performed during hospital admission. In people who have multiple blockages and who are relatively stable, or in a few emergency cases, bypass surgery may be an option, especially in diabetics.

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death for both men and women worldwide. Important risk factors are previous cardiovascular disease, older age, tobacco smoking, high blood levels of certain lipids (triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein) and low levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, excessive alcohol consumption, the abuse of certain drugs (such as cocaine and methamphetamine), and chronic high stress levels.

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